Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 43, Episode 11

Survivor 43, Episode 11 "Hiding in Plain Sight" Gameplay Analysis

"I got a smile so big I can taste the earwax."

-Cody Assenmacher

I love it when the contestants find a way to beat production at their own game. It always makes me laugh to watch production scramble to deal with something they didn't anticipate. This was a fun episode of Survivor thanks to that challenge and a hilarious search for an Advantage. Let's take a look at who played well and who sucked.

Who Played Well:

Let's start with Karla. I don't like that she told Cassidy about her Idol. Granted, that seems to have happened before this episode, but we didn't learn about it until this episode, so it's worth mentioning. However, Karla won Immunity and ended up being a part of the plan to take out Sami. She wasn't tricked into voting for Cassidy and she kept her closest ally in the game despite Sami's best efforts.

Knocking Sami out of the game was very good for both Jesse and Cody. The two of them stay in the game along with 2 Idols and knock out a smart player. Cody was even better because he found the Advantage and used it successfully to give himself Immunity.

Who Sucked:

Owen and Sami ended up on the wrong side of the vote, which is pretty typical for Owen at this point. Sami has now been painted as a schemer and someone who will flip on anyone. I'm not so sure Sami can win anymore.

Finally, we have Cody and Jesse. I really don't like that they turned on Noelle. It seemed like she was pretty close to them and was absolutely willing to work with them. She's also the perfect person to use as a meat-shield. She's such an obvious threat that people could very easily miss other threats. Cody and Jesse should have gone with the plan to split votes between Karla and Sami to try and knock Karla's Idol out of the game. The Noelle vote was too soon for them and I predict everyone will be coming for Cody and Jesse in the next episode.

As for Noelle, she already had a spotlight on her after her strategic play in the previous episode. She made things worse for herself by winning the Reward Challenge. She was the most obvious threat in the game and other people exploited that to knock her out.

Verdict:

Best Player of the Episode goes to Cody Assenmacher for finding the Advantage, playing it correctly to get Immunity, and knocking Sami out of the game.

Worst Player of the Episode goes to Mike Gabler for voting out one of the only people he had a chance against in the Final 3. Cassidy and Owen did the same thing, but both of them had positive aspects to their episode. Gabler did not.

I'm really hoping everyone finally goes for Cody or Jesse in the next episode because this is getting ridiculous.

I'm excited to see what happens next! If you liked this breakdown, check out my other write-ups at www.stacysbloggoingon.blogspot.com/.